Figure 1: National supply and demand projections for FTE registered nurses (2018-2025).
Source: http://www.aha.org/research/reports/tw/chartbook/ch5.shtml
into the umbrella of “affordable” healthcare through insurance. So what happens
when all those people successfully buy
insurance through their state or federal
insurance marketplaces and seek care?
Chances are many of the newly insured
people have complex chronic conditions
for which they rarely received care in the
past. Is the chronic care delivery model
equipped to handle that rising demand?
Hospitals with an average of 4 percent
operating margin [1] are consolidating at
an accelerated rate to stay viable. In addition, nearly 50 percent of physicians
and 45 percent of nurses are over 50
and are close to retirement. With a looming shortage of primary care physicians
and nurses (Figure 1), who historically
are the key providers for the chronic care
A NA L Y T I C S
patients, the health systems in the United
States are about to face a daunting task:
keeping patients out of hospitals and
other healthcare facilities while maintaining high patient satisfaction! This might
sound like an oxymoron but that’s exactly what i 2